Grand Pearl Cruise

Grand Pearl Cruise

“Witness the beauty of the Chao Phraya River and rural life along the two riverbanks from the cruise deck or from the cool, air-conditioned passenger cabin.”

This was the last part of our Ayutthaya by Grand Pearl tour, a return journey to Bangkok via cruise ship. It’s almost 1 o’ clock in the afternoon when we reached Wat Chong-lom Pier in Nonthaburi.

We were the first to arrive and board the ship. I guess this is what the couples from our group were looking forward to. They looked excited and were musing for the buffet. My stomach was already complaining. But since we still had the whole boat to ourselves, we took advantage of taking photos at the upper deck. We were already enjoying our lunch as guests from different travel & tour agencies started arriving.

Ayutthaya Historical Park

Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Historical Park

The second part of the tour was visiting the historic city of Ayutthaya. I've been looking forward to seeing this once glorious and majestic city, now an archaeological ruin.

The weather was hot and humid. Moving from one place to another can be a bit of a challenge. One good thing about package tours is that you don't have to worry about your transportation. I also love the fact that we are often offered cold towel and bottled water by our tour guide.

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

One of the places I’d like to visit in Thailand is Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. So my friends and I booked the “Ayutthaya by Grand Pearl” package tour for Thb 1,600 each.

We haven’t decided yet our hotel accommodation at the time we booked this tour. All we told Oil, the tour guide from our temple tour, was that we are moving to a new hotel. We just arranged to be picked up at the lobby of First House Hotel since we knew that we will be staying within that area anyway.

Wat Phra Kaew & The Grand Palace

Our next destination was Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most beautiful and the most revered Buddhist temple in Thailand. Although full of tourists, it was an amazing place to visit. The architecture, sculpture, mural paintings and everything else we saw within the temple grounds were a wealth of art.

The Golden Buddha & The Reclining Buddha

It was our second day in Bangkok and we’re up early because today we are going on a tour. Our tour guide was already waiting for us at the lobby when we got down. She introduced herself to us as Oil. Our itinerary included visiting the Royal Grand Palace and three famous Wats in Bangkok.

Our first stop was Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha in Chinatown. The Golden Buddha was at the top level of Phra Maha Mondop. Sadly, we tried to have a full-sized photograph of this building from the ground but our basic camera can only do so much.

Suvarnabhumi International Airport

Suvarnabhumi International Airport

Welcome to Bangkok! It was almost 4:00 PM when we arrived at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport. I can see the excitement from my friend as it was her first time to travel abroad. We were giggling on our way out of the plane. We were teasing our friend to put on her name tag and be on guard for her not to get lost. We just arrived and we were already starting to have fun.

The airport was huge and there are walkalators so we already guessed that it will be a long way out. We were not in a hurry so we had time for a trip to the restroom and some picture taking.

Thailand 2012 (Part II)



Ayutthaya, Thailand

This was the second part of our Thailand 2012 trip. We've been in Bangkok for 5 days now and we still have a lot of things to do. We didn't have any itinerary prepared when we decided to go to Bangkok, but just bargain hunting and shopping in mind. We need to bring home enough stocks to sell this holiday season.

Day 6:

It’s tour day again! Our first stop was at the Bang Pa-in Summer Palace.
Then we headed to Ayutthaya Historical Park to explore Wat Maha That, Phra Mongkhon Bophit Temple and Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Last part of the tour was a cruise along Chao Phraya River via Grand Pearl.

Thailand 2012 (Part I)

Bangkok, Thailand

I was glad when my friends invited me to go on a trip. We initially thought of going to Singapore to catch the weekend market sale. But when one of our friends backed out due to schedule conflict, we ended up flying to Bangkok instead.

Luckily we were able to get a discounted fare from Tiger Airways. It will be our first time in Bangkok so we thought it would be best if we pre-booked our accommodation. We chose Siam Star Hotel for our first 3 nights and decided to just look for a nice inexpensive hotel for the remainder of our stay when we get to Bangkok.

October Treat: Midas Cafe


My Nanay and I spent the whole morning shopping for Christmas lights and décors. This is also the day I am buying my much needed camera. My two lovely Titas were at my Nanay’s carinderia when we got home in the afternoon. I was glad to see them so invited them out for dinner. We decided to meet at Midas Hotel and Casino.

It's G Day!

 

G Day @ Midas Cafe

It’s Gisselle’s birthday today and I am privileged that she is celebrating her special day with me despite her busy schedule as a designer and a hot mama. Our friendship started during my FFI days, and that’s 14 years ago. Our friendship has come a long way. We’ve always been good friends regardless of our body shape and size, through thick and thin . . . hahaha.

October Treat: Lugang Cafe

 

Lugang Cafe, Mall of Asia



My Nanay and two Titas are celebrating their birthday this October. I know that aside from their individual celebrations, they are also planning a little R & R in Tagaytay to celebrate their birthday altogether. My Titas have been very supportive of me these past months, and to show them my appreciation I invited them out for dinner.

 

My sister and I arrived first in MOA so we roamed around to find a place to eat. We spotted Lugang Café. There was a queue outside. I guess one indication that a restaurant is good is if people are willing to wait to be seated. Though the restaurant looked a little crowded, I liked the elegant interior and I like Chinese food so we decided to try Lugang Café.